NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - At least three oil companies are
still actively bidding for Citgo Petroleum Corp, the U.S.
refining arm of Venezuela's PDVSA, even after the
country's finance minister said that the auction was no longer
going ahead, according to three people familiar with the
situation.

The investment bank hired by PDVSA to conduct the sale,
Lazard Ltd, has not ended the sale process, the people
said on Tuesday, and a deadline for a second round of bids is
expected later this month. The people declined to be named
because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Any deal for Citgo, which could be worth as much as $10
billion, could help to reshape the U.S. refining landscape,
giving the winning bidder access to major refining assets in the
Midwest and on the Gulf Coast at a time when U.S. oil production
is soaring. The Citgo refineries are in a position to access
supplies of crude from U.S. Shale formations and imported
Canadian crude. For Venezuela, a sale would provide much needed
capital to meet its budget needs.

A Citgo representative did not immediately provide comment.
Officials at PDVSA and Venezuela's oil ministry could not be
immediately reached for comment. A Lazard representative
declined to comment.

Finance Minister Rodolfo Marco said in an interview
published in Venezuelan media on Oct. 26 that the sale of Citgo
Petroleum "has been ruled out" and the nation's President
Nicolas Maduro had "affirmed" the decision.

It was not immediately clear why Lazard was going ahead with
the auction despite that declaration, and whether the process
could eventually be called off.

Marco's announcement surprised bidders who had done due
diligence on the Citgo assets.

A first round of bids attracted contenders including
Marathon Petroleum Corp, Valero Energy Corp,
India's Reliance Industries Ltd, PBF Energy Inc
and HollyFrontier Corp. It was not immediately
clear who would be bidding in the second round.

Valero and Marathon declined to comment on the bidding
process. PBF, HollyFrontier and Reliance did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.

Since Venezuela began the auction this summer, the price of
oil has plunged from about $105 per barrel to $77 per barrel,
putting huge pressure on the government's budget, which relies a
lot on revenue from oil sales.

Plans to sell Citgo have been controversial within the
Venezuelan government. Top officials in the cash-strapped
country appeared to support the divestment to help shore up its
finances while others in the leftist coalition slammed moves to
sell Citgo as a covert privatization.